Build a wonder
by Lyssaphra
Summary: Tezuka, Fuji and their relationship.


Tezuka calmly watched as the young boy called Echizen played a fake match against Momoshiro, silently making mental notes on what the two of them would need to do to progress. He would need to talk to Inui later and consult him on the continued training of the young prodigy. Glancing to his side, he absently looked over the young man standing beside him, smilingly watching his two fellow club members playing. Fuji had shown up at his side about five minutes ago and had yet to leave it. Something that was quite out of character for the first prodigy of Seigaku. Or for anyone. He was well aware that he was considered the most unapproachable member of the club, even above Inui and Kaidoh due to his cold exterior. It didn't belong to the usual events that someone sought his company.

Sensing that he was being looked at, Fuji turned his smiling face in Tezuka's direction. Cocking his head slightly in an inquisitive way, the brown haired young man looked at his captain.

"The match will be over any second," Tezuka said, glancing over at the pair before returning his impersonal eyes to Fuji. "You need to work on your doubles playing with Kawamura. Unless you wanted something?"

Fuji simply nodded and took his racket to walk over to his doubles partner. Tezuka didn't think further of the event, until the next day when he found himself in the company of the young man again. With anyone else, he would be questioning why the person in question kept seeking his company, but this was Fuji. So, Tezuka just passed it off as another of the unreadable young man's ideas. It didn't take long before he came to accept the other's company and even expect it as he regarded his players' training.

A few weeks later found him in a similar position, watching the freshmen picking up balls at the court, not wanting yet to leave for the locker room. He wasn't surprised when he heard footsteps behind him, stopping as the person in question was standing beside him. A glance to the side told him it was Fuji as it almost always was and he relaxed again, letting his mind go over the practice of the day. When Fuji spoke for the first time since he had begun seeking Tezuka's company, it only seemed natural to answer.

"Will you be playing in the next tournament?"

"No," he absently said, mentally going over the comments Inui had given him for today's practice. "Perhaps the next one after that."

Fuji nodded, remaining a silent companion by his side until the taller man finally decided to go to the lockers. Changing together, they silently walked the way to their respective homes in each other's company.

That first time of talking would come to mark the beginning of short, sharp remarks shared between them as they stood together, ever watching. At first, it was mostly data on players, short discussions on decisions Tezuka made, but slowly it came to include other things. The small talk became personal on both accounts. It surprised the young captain to realize that he was slowly but surely gaining the closest friend he'd ever had.

When Fuji entered the bathroom where Tezuka was currently washing his face, the captain thought nothing of it. Or rather, he didn't bother to think closer of it. All of his mind was currently focused on the upcoming training session with Echizen, of what he would need to do. On the fact that he would use his faulty elbow in serious playing for the first time in a very long while. That he most probably would do the move that had caused it to go bad the first time. Tezuka was a serious, not easily flapped man, but even he felt slightly nervous about the upcoming match and what it might cause.

"There is no way I can talk you out of this, is there?" Fuji's voice was unusually serious, and when Tezuka turned around, it was to see the other's eyes wide open and looking at him with a speculative look in them. It wasn't hard to see what he was talking about, and Tezuka didn't try to deny it. Fuji was much more intelligent than most people deemed him to be.

"No. It is needed." Fuji shook his head, and to Tezuka's surprise, a bitter chuckle escaped the prodigy's lips, echoing through the empty bathroom.

"I'm the first to admit that I generally don't care much for other's well being, but believe me when I say that what you intend to achieve isn't needed at the cost of you." the other's voice was almost sounding petulant. The thought brought a smile to the tennis captain's face.

"It is, Fuji. There's a large possibility that I won't be able to play much longer. Seigaku needs Echizen."

The other simply shook his head and walked up to him, pressing his slim body flat against Tezuka's, looking silently into Tezuka's eyes. Neither of them spoke. Then the light-haired tennis player tilted his head up, touching his lips to the ones of his captain. The kiss didn't go on for much more than a second, yet it redefined their relationship in a way that Tezuka never would have anticipated. When Fuji stepped away to simply caress his cheek fleetingly, he only looked back, his eyes unreadable.

"Just be careful."

Fuji turned and walked out the room.

It didn't surprise Tezuka when their relationship didn't change much, even after the unexpected kiss. Fuji still sought his company, nothing was tense between them, no one commented on the event. Yet there was something not quite palpable that had changed between them. Fuji stood a step closer to him during practice, Tezuka chose the seat next to the other in class and suddenly all those little touches between them he had never seen became all the more noticeable to him.

One rainy afternoon after a particularly heavy practice, Fuji accompanied Tezuka to the sports shop of his choice. After looking out and buying shoes, the two of them found themselves walking in one of the parks of the city, simply enjoying each others' company. It seemed strange to neither of them when Tezuka after a fast dash under a tree from a sudden downpour smiled quickly and bowed his head, giving Fuji a soft kiss. When they parted, the other only smiled and held out his hand in an obvious request. As the dark-haired young man took the hand, both smiled. Another step had been taken in the intricate dance that had become their lives.

The day when Tezuka's body finally betrayed him would become the most important day yet in their lives. Because while one of the two, that one being Tezuka, had known what to expect and what it could bring, the other had no idea. That was the fact that brought on their first quarrel. Even as Fuji both saw and understood his not-quite-lover-but-definitely-more-than-a-friend's reason for doing what he had done, he neither supported the reason nor accepted the train of thought that supported it. The fight they had that night caused a silence between them for three days.

Curiously enough, it was the person who indirectly was the cause of the fight who ended it. Fuji was still slowly stewing in his own juices when the younger prodigy simply walked up to him during a training hour, pointing his racket at him and plainly saying within the hearing range of everyone in the near vicinity, for Fuji to stop sulking and support Tezuka instead of berating him for something of the past.

"Tezuka-buchou won't get better because of your disagreement, Fuji-sempai," Echizen said, looking at him with those remarkable green eyes. "You should be there for him instead and help him get better. If you don't, there will never be anyone worth playing around here. You're no prodigy when sulking."

That interesting little statement sent Echizen up a notch on Fuji's private little hall of fame and caused some laughter around the court for the first time in quite a while. It wasn't many who didn't catch the seriousness of Echizen's statement though, despite the humorous ending. Fuji laughed that afternoon. Then he took the bus to Tezuka's home.

That afternoon their relationship became a serious one. It wasn't a dance on roses though, just that particular argument took two hours of talking to make up for and not even the spontaneous making-out session taking place afterwards could dissipate the grave air of the quarrel.

"We may never agree on this," Tezuka said that afternoon as Fuji prepared to leave, "but Echizen is Seigaku's future. I wouldn't be true to myself if I didn't do my best to prepare for that future."

Fuji smiled at that, leaning in to kiss his boyfriend on the cheek. "That I know," he agreed, his eyes smiling. "and I will accept that. As long as you don't do anymore stunts and do whatever needed to heal. I miss our matches."

Tezuka nearly smiled.

That very talk was one of the main reasons to Tezuka's acceptance of the treatment in Germany. And the day when one of the most promising players in Japan left to heal, he was seen off by a supporting boyfriend and a caring team. No one knew what the future would bring then, but everyone knew one thing. As long as Fuji and Echizen were around, no one would be able to forget Tezuka. For in them, he never left.


End file.
